SPRING FLOWER FESTIVAL ACROSS HO CHI MINH CITY

Bathed in the warm and gentle sunshine of the spring season, it is not hard to come across the sight of people dressed in their finest outfits, young women gracefully adorned in vibrant ao dai posing beside spring-themed decorative sceneries and brilliantly blooming flower arrangements. Visiting Ho Chi Minh City during the Tet season, visitors will especially encounter these images at the Ho Chi Minh City Spring Flower Festival held at Tao Dan Park, District 1, and the “Tren Ben Duoi Thuyen” (On the Wharf, Beneath the Boats) Spring Flower Festival at Binh Dong Wharf, District 8. These are two of the most beloved annual Tet destinations for the city’s residents.
At the Ho Chi Minh City Spring Flower Festival, visitors can explore the ornamental flower and plant exhibition featuring a wide variety of flowers including apricot blossoms, orchids, frangipani, along with rare trees, antique ornamental plants, and bonsai. Within the framework of the festival, a host of activities also takes place, including lion, unicorn and dragon dances, traditional martial arts performances, folk stage arts, traditional games, circus acts, magic shows, painting workshops, art exhibitions, souvenir areas, calligraphy, tea ceremony, food and beverage spaces, singing bird competitions, and much more — all contributing to the vibrant and jubilant atmosphere of the new year.
To offer visitors a diverse range of spring outing options, the “Tren Ben Duoi Thuyen” Spring Flower Festival at Binh Dong Wharf, District 8 is organized within a cultural space that is characteristic of District 8 in particular and the city as a whole. It has long been a distinctive and familiar tourism destination for both city residents and visitors during every Tet season. This tradition has been maintained by local people since after 1975, when small traders from the Mekong Delta provinces such as Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, and Dong Thap brought their distinctive regional trees, flowers, and fruits to supply city dwellers during the traditional Lunar New Year celebrations.